Unplanned population growth
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Recently, the worrisome issue discussed by the key speakers in the seminar of hundreds of thousands of gynecologists from all over the country is the rapidly growing population in Pakistan and how to control it.
Explaining the aims and objectives of the program and the details of the implications and destructions of the rapidly increasing population in Pakistan with data, the speakers said that as a gynecologist, the more children are born, the more we benefit. Nevertheless, we want to discuss all the measures that can be taken to prevent this storm, considering this issue as a concern for Pakistan.
It goes without saying that unless the rate of population growth is reduced by effective family planning, all plans for development and prosperity are futile. Even if it is started, it is done half-heartedly, as if the welfare department is doing a favor not to the future generation but to the donors who provide funds by encouraging low population of children. Currently, the global growth average is 1.05, while Pakistan's growth is 2.4 and the fertility rate is 3.6. In contrast, India, which is home to a population of one billion and 40 million, has a growth rate below us of 2.2 and Bangladesh's 2.0. 64 percent of the population consists of people under the age of 30, if this rate of population continues, our population will double by 2050 and we will be the third largest densely populated country in the world, while the most backward in terms of resources and development.
They described the rapidly growing population in Pakistan as the biggest and most dangerous enemy of Pakistan and compared it to Bangladesh. They argued that before the breakup of Pakistan, Bangladesh, which was East Pakistan at that time, had a larger population than West Pakistan and politically it remained a problem how to deal with the 56% by applying the principle of parity. Due to the large population, their seats in the National Assembly were also more. Today one wonders how well they have controlled their population after separation from Pakistan. Today it is 18 crores while we are also crossing the mark of 25 crores. The speakers proposed that the distribution of our national resources is currently done on the basis of population, if we make these resources subject to population control, then the ruling classes will definitely be concerned about this. They also expressed regret for the indifference and carelessness of the Pakistani governments and said that these people have no control over the real problems of the country and the nation except for their own interests. As a matter of fact, the over population is having a profound impact on the country's economy and the economic crisis has disrupted the human life system. According to the latest report of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the population of the country has reached 24 million and 90 thousand people and the population growth rate is 2.55% which is the highest in the region. If the pace continues, the population will double by 2050. The population growth rate is 2.53% in Punjab, 2.57% in Sindh, 2.38% in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 3.2% in Balochistan. 51.48% of the total population is male and 48.51% is female. Only sub-Saharan Africa has a higher growth rate than Pakistan. In the rest of the world, Pakistan is at the top in terms of population growth. The number of people under forty years of age is 61.12 percent of the total population, which is the highest.
There is a department called Welfare Population to prevent overpopulation, which has neither the budget nor the trained staff to meet the demands of family planning promotion and training in a country with a 96 percent Muslim population. The growing population is a huge burden on the country's economy, and to control it, the government should make this issue its top priority. Change the concept of fewer children to the concept of balanced population as recommended by the Council of Islamic Ideology. In the Department of Welfare and Population, all the staff, including the Minister and the Secretary, should be trained and also get the services of scholars and other experts. Moreover, the concept of balanced population should also be included in the educational curriculum. Then ensure cheap and easy availability of contraceptives. These measures are the indispensable need of the hour to support the country's economy which has reached the level of decline as a result of various factors indeed. One must here recall the United Nations report which said that if the population in Pakistan continues to grow at the same rate, in 2050 it will be a country of 40 million people. No matter how much effort is put to correct the direction of the economy, but due to the increase in population, these resources and all the infrastructure will decrease. On the other hand, the World Health Organization, only 22 percent of Pakistan's population has access to clean drinking water, while 85 percent are confront multiple problems. Along with preventing wastage of water, recycling and construction of dams for agricultural purposes is our most important national need evidence shows that water scarcity is a major threat in Pakistan. The question is, how big a risk is it? How fast is it growing? And what should we do to overcome it. These are questions that need to be answered as soon as possible, before it's too late. According to WWF, the available amount of water in Pakistan is 250 billion cubic meters, of which ninety percent is for agriculture, four percent for industry and the remaining six percent for domestic use.
That is, only 15 billion cubic meters of water out of 250 are available for domestic use. Our country is faced with unprecedented economic crisis, resulting in shortage of resources like food, petroleum, gas etc and we are running from pillar to post to make both ends meet. However, we never ponder as to what are the root causes of these crisis. In fact, there are many reasons for the current economic malaise and unbridled population growth is also one of them. The irony is that our population is growing at faster rate than that of our resources which are shrinking with the passage of time. When East Pakistan was separated, the total population of United Pakistan was 132 million, while the population growth rate was 3%. The population of West Pakistan was 12 million less than that of East Pakistan, that is, the number of people in East Pakistan was 720 million, while the population of West Pakistan was 6 million.
After the separation, Bangladesh has surpassed us in many fields. For example, the average age there is 72 years, while ours is 66 years.